650 jobs axed at STATS ChipPAC?

HER night shift was over but Madam Marzna Sulaiman stood outside the STATS ChipPAC factory in Yishun for more than 45 minutes yesterday morning, waiting to have a last breakfast meeting with friends.

“I don’t know when I will next see them,” said the 55-year-old production auditor, who was one of 650 workers — both production and professional — laid off by the chip-testing company over a two-day period starting yesterday.

Madam Marzna joined the growing ranks of workers being retrenched in the electronics industry: There have been 2,350 laid off so far this year, just 24 less than the total for the whole of last year.

STATS had announced in December plans to reduce its global workforce by 1,600. Then, the company — which has operations in 10 countries — had said “the majority of the restructuring will be made outside of Singapore”. When asked to comment yesterday on why so many of the job losses were here, STATS declined to comment.

Of the 650 workers affected, it is not known how many are locals. But at least five of the 20 affected workers Today interviewed were Singaporean. Half of the foreigners, including Malaysians, Filipinos and Chinese nationals, said they had volunteered to be retrenched. Three workers told Today they did not like the new shift arrangements. One, who wanted to be known as Jamaliah, said: “The package is quite good. I will take a rest then hope to find work later.”

The package seems to be the market norm: A month’s pay for each year of service, for those with the company for more than three years; while those who worked for less than three years get two week’s pay per year, according to the workers.

The United Workers of Electronic and Electrical Industries (UWEEI) union — which represented the workers in negotiations — felt a “fair deal” was struck, said executive secretary Halimah Yacob. The affected workers will be put through an employability camp; those not retrenched will also be offered assistance in re-training, she said.

Global semiconductor sales were severely hit by the economic turmoil, resulting in the first year-on-year drop since 2001. According to the United States-based Semiconductor Industry Association, in the Asia-Pacific, sales were down nearly 22 per cent in December from a year before.

Mdm Halimah said UWEEI would continue to work with companies through the Government-subsidised Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience to save jobs. “We will do whatever we can to help both workers and companies,” she vowed.

Mdm Marzna, who was with STATS for 12 years, said she would take a break to look after her grandchild. But her friend, who declined to be named, plans to sign up for re-training immediately. “I don’t know how long money will last,” said the 29-year-old mother of two. “The economy seems bad and I don’t want to take chances.”

- TODAY newspaper